Tompkins County approves LEED Silver building standard for all county-owned property

ITHACA — The Tompkins County Legislature on Tuesday adopted a green-building policy that mandates that new construction and major renovations of county-owned buildings or property must meet at least the equivalent of the LEED silver standard.

The legislation, approved by a 13 to 1 vote, leaves the decision on whether to seek the formal certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to be decided on a case-by-case basis, according to a Tompkins County news release.

The LEED silver standard is the second of four ratings levels the nonprofit USGBC has set for benchmarking green buildings, based on a points system. Its gold and platinum levels require more points than the silver level.

The county law applies to all projects valued at $500,000 or more. County legislator Mike Lane (D–Dryden) had proposed increasing the threshold for covered projects from $500,000 to $1 million, but that proposal was defeated by a 9-5 vote, according to the release.

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com